Page 63 of Peace Under Fire

Squish’s argument with Grumpy went wheels up beneath an onslaught of shame. He could feel his face heat. What was wrong with him? Crusher was right. Mandy’s ability made absolutely no difference to this mission.

Firmly in control of his team again, Crusher stared at Mandy. “We’ll approach our target from the south through the forest to avoid any overhead eyes. From here on out we’re going silent. No speaking unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

“The target? You mean my home?” Mandy asked with a slight cock to her helmeted head. At Crusher’s nod she continued. “What do you mean by overhead eyes?”

“Drones. Satellites. Any overhead surveillance system that might be watching your place from a distance. There’s less chance they’ll see us approaching from the woods. We’d stand out like flares if we took the driveway.” Crusher paused to give her a quick up and down look. “Our insert point is two klicks ahead. We’re looking at a good foot of snow on the ground. You going to be able to keep up?”

Squish had been wondering that himself. She’d obviously gotten her second wind after her long nap on the plane. But how long would that last? Slogging through snow took a hell of a lot more effort than hiking on hard-packed soil.

He expected her to ask how long a klick was. Instead, her chin lifted, and she nodded, determination in her stance and attitude. “I’ll keep up.”

Squish felt an unfamiliar emotion warm his chest. He’d never realized how much steel she had in her, how strong her backbone was, or how intractable she was when she’d set her mind on something. So far, she’d greeted every challenge with a lifted chin and raw determination.

He’d been so wrong about her. Back at the condos, she’d been so gentle, so quiet, so easy to back down. He’d mistaken that sweetness and gentleness for weakness. But the woman beside him had a spine of steel. Had she always had that strength? Why had he not seen it?

Crusher studied her again, and then accepted her response with a curt nod. He turned to Squish. “She’s your gal, your responsibility. Make sure she keeps up. Let’s head out.”

“I’m not his gal,” Mandy sputtered, as Crusher and Billy turned and started weaving their way between the trees.

Grumpy, Ajax, and Fabio fell in line behind them.

“We’re up,” Squish said quietly, nudging Mandy forward with a light push to her shoulder.

She took a step, only to stop. Her helmeted head turned in his direction, the bugged-out lenses of the NVGs fixed on him. She leaned in closer. “They all think we’re together—as in a couple. Why aren’t you correcting them?” she whispered.

Instead of answering—because he didn’t know what to say—he gave her another shove forward. Why hadn’t he corrected Crusher? Maybe because he didn’t want to? Maybe because he liked being linked with her? Maybe because if everyone assumed they were an item, she’d be off limits to any of the other guys—like Gray and Brick. Special operators didn’t make a play for a teammate’s woman. It was spec-ops code.

They started walking, weaving their way between tree trunks glossed green by the snow’s illumination mixed with the NVD’s fluorescent glow. He welcomed being out in the woods in the cold, crisp air, welcomed the sharpening of his senses, and the sounds of the snow crunching as Mandy’s new boots bore down and the subtle squeak when they lifted. The sharp scent of pine and sap surrounded him, filling his lungs with every inhalation. His breath frosted the air in plumes of luminous green. Clumps of snow struck his helmet with soft splats and then slid down his neck in icy rivulets.

He took a moment to thank Christ that his headaches remained at bay. He didn’t even feel one lurking in the background of his brain—a fucking miracle. Hell, that monster headache that been brewing earlier in the day at the clinic hadn’t made a reappearance either.

That had to be a good sign, right? An indication that he was finally on the mend?

Mandy determinedly marched through the snow alongside him, keeping up with Crusher’s steady pace. Their team leader didn’t push it, but he didn’t hold back either. Fifteen minutes from the vehicles, Crusher stopped walking and held up a clenched fist, indicating they’d reached their destination. Mandy’s breathing was labored and loud, but she’d kept up.

Crusher, who was crouched beside a shrub with snow-laden branches, beckoned Mandy and Squish forward. His voice was toneless as he leaned toward her and whispered. “You see anything out of place, anything that stands out?”

Mandy inched forward, her head moving from left to right as she checked the area out. Squish studied the complex too. The scene looked frozen in time and shrouded in snow, but the term ‘compound’ certainly fit it. The buildings were all thick concrete and arranged in a triangle with their doors visible to one another. There was no landscaping around the buildings to soften their austerity, or at least nothing he could see above the snow—no trees, or shrubs. Which meant there was no cover when approaching the buildings.

Of course, the bastards who’d attacked the place hadn’t gone for subtlety. They’d gone for shock and awe instead, a full-frontal assault.

Mandy spent so long studying the moon-glossed buildings, he wondered if she was going to respond at all. If his calculations were correct, it had been a year since she’d been home. No doubt this was an emotional moment for her—seeing her home again after it had been attacked, after her sisters had been taken.

She probably needed a minute or two to get her feelings under control. Without thinking, he inched closer to her and eased an arm around her back to offer his silent support.

The gesture didn’t go unnoticed. Even in the moonlight, he caught the dark look Grumpy shot him. He needed to lock down these weird impulses to comfort her, or touch her, or whatever was going on within him. From the less than discreet glances they were collecting, he was giving everyone the wrong impression. Still, he wasn’t the one who pulled away from the loose embrace. She did.

“I don’t see anything out of place,” she finally said in a whisper. “But I’m not used to this angle or wandering around in the snow, in the middle of the night.”

“The middle of the night?” Grumpy snorted. “It’s barely ten. What the hell time do you go to bed?”

Squish shifted slightly so his former buddy would see the shut-the-fuck-up finger he was flashing. He was kneeling close enough to Mandy to see her stiffen.

Slowly, she turned her head toward Grumpy. “Am I missing something here?” She kept her voice whisper-soft, which gave the dig even more power. “Was that inane question absolutely necessary? I believe we were told not to talk unless it was absolutely necessary.”

Squish choked on a startled laugh. She certainly wasn’t taking any of Grumpy’s shit. And that comeback of hers was perfect. She hadn’t focused on herself, she’d focused on the mission and their team leader’s orders. Based on the muscle twitching in Grumpy’s cheek, he hadn’t appreciated having his lack of professionalism called out.

Served the bastard right.

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